What Could Go Wrong?
by LoaTurtle00
Summary: Leo is left in charge when Splinter is away, and is forced to make a decision that could either blow his family's cover or save his brother's life. A friend not seen very often from the 2k3 cartoon series makes a cameo.
1. Splinter's Charge

**What Could Go Wrong?**

**About this story**: Based on a dream I had on 6-23-2006. In my storylines of the TMNT, I'll say it happens in the late summer and early fall of 2005. In case you were wondering, I did watch the "Fast Forward" and "Back to the Sewers" seasons of the 2k3 cartoon, but I didn't like them as much as I liked the regular 2k3 series. I also watched (and liked!) the 2007 movie. I may have included most of the elements from 2k3 cartoon and 2007 movie, but possibly left out stuff from the FF and BTTS series, and instead put in my own stuff. And I'm sure you're still wondering about why I mentioned the timeline to my storyline? Well, since the TMNT started (as a comic book series by Mirage Studios) in 1984, I'm going to "assume" that in that year in my storyline, that's when the TMNT were born/hatched/mutated, so this would mean that in 2005, the TMNT would be 21 years old. Rated T (PG-13), since drinking is mentioned, and some medical descriptions (not too graphic!).

**Warnings about this chapter**: none really, just some family-friendly moments

**Pairings**: Raph/Leo

* * *

**Chapter 1:** Splinter's Charge

"As I mentioned, Leonardo, tomorrow I am traveling to Japan for two months to help Ancient One with farming." Splinter nodded across the small table in his quarters at the blue-masked turtle sipping from a teacup.

"Yes, Sensei," Leo nodded, "And you said it was because Ancient One had an accident and injured his leg, right?"

"He told me it was a mishap with the ladder out in the orchard. He will need the extra help with the harvest in two months, but in the meantime he needs help in order to focus on healing."

"Do you need the four of us to come along and help?"

"It will not be necessary. Besides, I know that Donatello and Michelangelo are taking a few university classes, and helping Miss O'Neil with her store. And Raphael is working with Mister Jones at the stadium."

"Then, do you need _my_ help?" Leo asked his father with concern.

"I _do_ need your help, my son, but you can help me most by staying here with your brothers. I need you here to be in charge of them. Please make sure that you get practice time in the dojo with all four of you, and that you ensure everyone does his share of chores. I'm sure it will not be a problem to ensure that Donatello gets his study time for his classes, since he has always been studious. It might be more of a challenge to get him to come to the dojo for practice, though. Make sure that Michelangelo studies for his classes, and does not just play video games or read comic books. He says he is excited about taking English Literature and World History classes on the line through the university…"

He saw Leo suppressing a giggle, so he asked, "What? Did I say that correctly?"

Leo stated, "Actually it's _online_, not '_on the line_'. But I knew what you were talking about."

Splinter corrected himself, "Very well, '_online_' classes. One of these days I will speak the same language as you kids—or young adults—since you have been mutant turtles for twenty-one years. I can't believe you have grown up…" He had a faraway look in his eyes, but then came back to the present, "And where was I?"

Leo thought, "You were talking about Mikey's online college classes, and telling me to make sure he studies."

"Oh, yes, my son. I'm very excited that Michelangelo is applying himself to something where he can express his creativity. In his younger years, I was almost sure he had that 'Attention-Deficit Disorder' that the humans talk about."

"Really?" Leo asked, "How did you know? Do you want me to put him on Ritalin while you are away?"

"Even though I am no doctor, I read pamphlets that make their way from doctor's offices and hospitals down the storm drain. You may have been nine or ten years old when I first read about it, and I instantly thought that Michelangelo fits the checklist. But I have worked closely with him over the years, and don't think he requires medication anymore. It would have saved me some headaches, but it may have just created some other headaches worrying about side effects and the like. Hopefully, you will not have to worry about medical treatment for your brothers while I am away. I think it should avoid some problems if you keep a low profile and do not get involved in any major fights."

Leo spoke up, "That brings me to another question, Master Splinter. What about Raph? Fighting and roughhousing are his hobbies, and…well…he doesn't exactly like to listen to me, especially when I'm in any position of authority or leadership over him. Sure, Mikey and Donnie listen to me, but I'll admit I'm still not sure how to lead Raph, even after twenty-one years of practice."

Splinter thought for a moment, "Raphael can be challenging. He does not like to be treated like a child. Perhaps if you treat him as an equal, rather than an underling, it may help earn his respect. You are also welcome to talk to him, and get his opinion on how to keep the peace with him."

"Oh, I see…collaborate with him. It seems the times we get along best are when I treat him not as another 'little brother', but more as a 'co-big-brother'."

"You may even need to schedule regular time for just the two of you—sparring, eating lunch, watching a movie, watching a sporting event—you may need Michelangelo's creativity. And Donatello has excellent listening skills and patience with Raphael. Raphael has told me that of all his brothers, he feels most comfortable talking to Donatello, especially when it comes to some of his difficulties. Donatello listens to him without jumping to conclusions or passing judgment. If you need to talk with Donatello first, and maybe get him to talk to Raphael, it may save some headaches."

"OK, that makes sense. It seems that if I can get along with Raph, I could probably get along with anyone. I wonder how you could manage all these years."

"I wasn't his manager, but I was his father, and his teacher. He really needs leadership and guidance more than he will admit, but when given the right balance between supervision and autonomy, he will flourish—as will most. It is more of an art than a science in trying to find that balance. He needs a leader he can respect and admire. He also admires you more than he will admit at times. And since you are responsible, Leonardo, I trust you to take responsibility and leadership for your brothers in my absence."

"Thank you, Sensei. I will do my best."

* * *

"Do you have to go, now, Master Splinter?" Mikey even tried sticking out his lower lip and batting his eyes to look convincing.

"Ancient One needs me, and I know you have your studies and work here, my son." Splinter pulled Mikey close in a big hug, "But I will still miss you, Michelangelo."

Mikey hugged back, "I will miss you, too, Daddy! Give Ancient One our love. I hope he gets better!"

Splinter released and moved to his next son in the lineup.

"And you know that you can just call us on the shell-cell if you need us," Don tried to smile.

"Yes, I do have my shell-cell, my son." Splinter put his arms around Don for a hug, "And I will miss you, too, Donatello."

"I will miss you, too, Father." Don hugged back, "I packed enough multivitamins for you, and some calcium supplements and over-the-counter pain-relievers for Ancient One. I hope that helps."

"Thank you, Donatello, that's very thoughtful. I will tell him they are a gift from you." He let go, finishing with a gentle shoulder pat.

"Take care, Dad." Raph accepted Splinter's hug, "And tell Ancient One that I said hi."

"I will tell him, my son. And I will miss you, Raphael. Please make sure that Leonardo doesn't get any headaches or panic attacks while I'm gone."

"Sure, I'll treat him to a massage, maybe scented candles, fuzzy slippers, and a bubble bath…" He glanced over at Leo, who raised a ridge of his mask that would've been an eyebrow. "Heh, heh…unless that makes him even more uncomfortable, then I could just take him out for drinks or something."

Splinter chuckled, "I know you will take care of Leonardo, and protect your younger brothers."

"Of course I will," Raph nodded as Splinter released.

Splinter moved to Leo, "And, Leonardo, you know that you are in charge while I'm away. I trust you will do a good job, and give your brothers the love and encouragement they need."

"I will, Father." Leo put his arms around Splinter in a hug, which they shared for a few moments. "Give Ancient One our tender loving care so he heals."

"Of course, my son." Splinter released the hug, and soon disappeared from the Lair.

"Well," Leo sighed and looked at his brothers, "Now that it's just us, why don't we divide up our chores and practice schedules?"

Mikey gagged, "Can we at least do it over lunch? I'm starving!"

Don said, "Mikey, you just finished breakfast. How could you possibly be starving?"

"I'm a growing boy!" Mikey whined.

"Yeah right, you're at least twenty-one, which would make you an adult by now." Raph rolled his eyes, "It's not like you're gonna get any taller, just chunkier from now on."

"Maybe I'm just blessed with a high metabolism," Mikey shrugged, "What can I say?"

"I suppose it would be easier to talk about the heavy stuff while we're eating," Leo stated as the four of them headed for the kitchen. "Would anyone like to volunteer to get lunch ready?"

"That depends," Raph stepped forward, "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches OK with everyone?"

Everyone else shrugged an "OK."

Raph continued, "And I'll also volunteer for dinner tonight, if everyone is OK with either cereal or macaroni and cheese."

"Go for it, Raphie," Don patted him, "It would be a step up from the ramen noodles I was gonna eat while I study."

As they entered the kitchen, and Raph started getting out the sandwich fixings, Leo leaned in close to Raph, "OK, Bro, what's the catch?"

"What?" Raph tried to look innocent, "Do you question my motives for wanting to treat my family to a decent meal? Especially while I have a knife in my hand?" He pretended to brandish the knife as if it were a weapon, even though it was covered in peanut butter.

Leo chuckled, "I mean, lunch _and_ dinner? Do you have something else going on, where you want me to cut you a break with the chore assignments? Come on, Raph."

Raph gave up and set down the knife, "Alright, it's because I was hoping to go hang out with Casey after work tonight. We may catch a movie or hang out, and it may be two in the morning before I come back home. Anyways, I know you're in charge, and I don't wanna waste time arguing with you, but I really wanna blow some steam with Casey. Please!"

Leo laughed, "Just promise me you won't get in any fights. Splinter is out of the country, so we have no 'Weapon of Mass Destruction' to come rescue you in a fight. Deal?"

Raph grimaced a little, but then turned back to face his older brother, "OK, deal." The two of them shook hands.

Raph released from the handshake and turned back to pick up the knife, "So, Leo, do you want your peanut butter smooth or crunchy?"


	2. Raph's Night Out

**What Could Go Wrong?**

**About this story**: Based on a dream I had on 6-23-2006. In my storylines of the TMNT, I'll say it happens in the late summer and early fall of 2005. In case you were wondering, I did watch the "Fast Forward" and "Back to the Sewers" seasons of the 2k3 cartoon, but I didn't like them as much as I liked the regular 2k3 series. I also watched (and liked!) the 2007 movie. I may have included most of the elements from 2k3 cartoon and 2007 movie, but possibly left out stuff from the FF and BTTS series, and instead put in my own stuff.

And I'm sure you're still wondering about why I mentioned the timeline to my storyline? Well, since the TMNT started (as a comic book series by Mirage Studios) in 1984, I'm going to "assume" that in that year in my storyline, that's when the TMNT were born/hatched/mutated, so this would mean that in 2005, the TMNT would be 21 years old. Rated T (PG-13), since drinking is mentioned, and some medical descriptions (not too graphic!).

**Warnings about this chapter**: some vomiting involved later in the chapter

**Pairings**: Raph/Leo

* * *

**Chapter 2:** Raph's Night Out

"AAHHH! LEO! Don't do that! You nearly made me pee in my shell!" Mikey gasped as Klunk scattered at his feet from the floodlight-grade flashlight Leo shone at him from the kitchen table.

"Sorry, Mikey, I just couldn't resist." Leo lowered the flashlight he was shining in Mikey's face. "I'm just rehearsing for when Raph gets home." He picked up his cup of tea at the kitchen table and took a few sips from it.

"You're waiting up for The Hothead? Is he late getting in, yet?" Mikey sat down across from Leo.

"Well, he did say he would get in after two in the morning. It's nearly two-forty-five." Leo sighed and glanced at Mikey's sympathetic expression on the other side of the low candlelight flicker. "What brings you to the kitchen at this hour?"

"Oh, Klunky, here, got hungry, and I came in to get him something." He was stroking Klunk's fur, who had gotten up in Mikey's lap while he was talking.

"Would you like some tea? I was gonna save it for Raph, but I'm not sure if he'll want any, even if he decides to come home tonight."

"OK. Is it decaf?"

"Yes, but it's not making me feel any less stressed, even with the chamomile."

Mikey reached over and placed a comforting right hand on Leo's left hand. "I'm sorry you're stressing over Raph. I hope he's not deliberately disobeying you or challenging your authority." He paused for a brief moment. "But then again, maybe he was trying to come home, not looking for trouble, but trouble just found him, and…"

"Oh, Mikey, I don't know which of those options I would rather think about right now. I suppose I was hoping he'd come home by now, and we'd be talking before getting ready for bed..."

"Are we still talking about the same Raph?" Mikey took a few sips.

Leo sighed, "What was I thinking? It seems no matter how hard I try to keep the peace and be on good terms with Raph, he just doesn't want me as a leader, or a brother, or a friend."

Mikey shrugged, "I know Raph isn't always buddy-buddy with either of us, but I know he does care, and he does appreciate peace-making efforts like your waiting up for him. Even though he's not the biggest fan of tea. For what it's worth, I think you're doing fine in charge while Splinter is away. And you make a mean chamomile tea, just like Raph makes a mean mac and cheese dinner."

Leo smiled in spite of his apprehension. Mikey was great to talk with for times like this.

Suddenly, there was the sound of the Lair's door opening, and the sound of approaching footsteps. Klunk's ears perked from Mikey's lap.

"GAAAAHHHH! Sheesh, Leo, give me a heart attack why don't ya?" Raph stumbled back a few steps as he walked into Leo's surprise floodlight.

Mikey and Leo both doubled over and laughed.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Raph rolled his eyes. Leo and Mikey both realized he was taking some deep breaths.

"And what's your excuse this time?" Leo asked with a smirk.

"OK, you caught me cheating on you. I was out seeing my other big brother, Casey. We were at his bachelor pad the whole time watching a movie, playing foosball, and punching the heavy bag after work. I lost track of time, so I ran home as fast as I could, kicking myself for not bringing my bike. Whew!"

"Are you sure you're OK? You look sweaty and even kinda pale?" Mikey asked with concern.

Raph put his hands on his knees for support, taking a few more deep breaths. "Oh, I'm fine, thanks. Just a little out of breath."

"You weren't fighting, were you?" Leo stood up.

"No, we didn't fight. The only fights we saw tonight were the usual brawling tailgaters and fans at the stadium we break up all the time, and that was hours ago. I even told Casey about Splinter being away, and that we needed to keep a low profile, so he agreed to skip the vigilante patrol tonight. We went straight to his house after the game, and were there the whole time. Hey, where's Donnie-Boy?"

"He went to bed hours ago." Leo explained, "But you're welcome to sit down with us and have a late-night snack or some tea."

"Nah…thanks anyway. It'll just keep me up. I think I'll calm down my favorite way, by going to the dojo area and hitting the heavy bag a few rounds." Raph stepped back, stumbling slightly as he left the kitchen.

Mikey broke the few seconds of silence. "Well, we waited up for him, and he came home. OK, that sounds like our bedtime to me…" He put his teacup in the sink.

Leo sighed as he put his cup in the sink, and started to get out detergent to wash the dishes.

Mikey put his hand over the sink handle, blocking Leo from turning on the water. "Whoa! Chill, Leo, it's three AM. Those dishes will still be there in the morning. Raph is home, get some rest so you can kick his shell tomorrow morning in the dojo."

Leo chuckled, "You're absolutely right, Mikey. Just because I'm in charge doesn't mean I have to always be the last one in bed. Maybe I'll start leading by example." He started walking next to Mikey as he left the kitchen.

"Technically," Mikey began, "Donnie is leading us by example of going to bed early." He put his arm around Leo's shoulder, "Now, the leader has become the follower."

Leo heard some muffled sounds of Raph's heavy grunting and hitting the heavy bag from the dojo. "Well, I was talking about leading Raph by example by going to bed before him. It's way past my bedtime, as you know, too late for me to reason rationally. Maybe that chamomile tea is starting to kick in."

"That's cool. Even you need someone looking out for you once in a while." Mikey stopped in front of the door to Leo's room.

Leo turned toward Mikey and gave him a brief hug and pat on the shoulder. "Thanks, Mikey, I really needed your encouragement and humor tonight."

"Sure thing, bro." Mikey hugged back. "Well, nighty-night, Leonardo." He turned and headed for his own room.

"Sweet dreams, Michelangelo." Leo waved briefly before reaching for the doorknob to his room.

"AAAAHHHH!" Came a scream from the dojo.

Leo and Mikey both glanced at each other in surprise.

"Is it possible that Raph accidentally hurt himself while hitting the punch bag?" Leo asked.

"Oh, you know Raphie—he's prolly just upset or angry about something that happened at Casey's house, or some call the officials made during the baseball game…"

"OHHH, FOR THE LOVE OF…" Then there was the sound of rapidly spilling and splattering liquid.

That was all it took to make Leo and Mikey run for the dojo to check on him. Leo let Mikey reach the dojo first.

"Raph, are you al—Eeewww!" Mikey exclaimed.

Leo looked around Mikey to see what disgusted him. Raph was crouched on his knees at the base of the heavy bag. His left arm was hugging the bag, and possibly keeping him somewhat upright. His right arm was sandwiched between his doubled-over body and thighs, clutching his right side. He was also sitting among a puddle of vomit, some of which had splattered on the heavy bag. Raph looked up at them with sunken eyes, an even paler yellowish shade of green, and some vomit dribbling from his chin onto the rest of him. He grimaced in pain and now reached his left hand over to his right side, which also made him roll toward that side.

"Hang on, Raphie, I'm coming!" Don's voice was heard from behind them, still sounding sleepy. Raph turned his head slightly to welcome the approaching Don.

Once Don reached Raph's right side, he put his arm across Raph's shoulders and asked, "Oh, Raph, I can see you're in pain and you just threw up. Where do I start helping you?"

"How about making the pain stop?" Raph grunted.

"Sure. How and where did it start?"

"It started as a cramp in the middle of my abdomen, but moved over to the right side, by my hip. I didn't feel much like eating or drinking anything for the last four or five hours, so I don't think it was anything I ate or drank."

"Did it hurt that entire time?"

"Not really, it just started hurting a little after leaving Casey's place. I had to stop and take a breath every five minutes while running over here. I thought punching the bag would take my mind off it, but it's making it worse."

Don looked at his tech-tab palm pilot for a few moments. "Hmmm…" He turned back toward Raph. "Can you straighten your right leg for me?"

Raph tried, but winced in even more pain. "That hurts like shell!"

"That's OK, then, you can just continue to guard your right hip, curled up like you're doing. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it worse." Don rubbed Raph's shell sympathetically with his left hand, while his right hand put away his palm pilot.

Leo stepped closer to them. "I'd hate to interrupt or rush you in any way, Donnie, but can you tell what's wrong with Raph yet?"

Don paused a moment, "Well, I haven't completely ruled out inguinal hernia…" He turned again toward Raph and asked, "Have you done any heavy lifting, today?"

Raph took a breath; "I only helped Casey carry something upstairs to his apartment when we got off work at about ten o'clock. But I didn't think it was really very heavy."

Don's right hand moved toward Raph's tender right hip. "And most of the pain is from right here, now?"

Raph flinched at first at Don's touch, but let Don handle him. He nodded with a grimace.

"It's OK, I'm not gonna hurt you. Does it feel like the pain is really deep, not close to the surface of your skin or shell?"

"Yeah, pushing in hurts it more." He demonstrated by trying to massage himself an inch or two closer to his middle from his right hip, then hissing in pain.

"I see…" Don nodded, then looked back at Leo. "It sounds more like acute appendicitis, now. It's possible that his appendix ruptured. He may even need medical attention."

Raph actually looked teary-eyed at this point. He handed Don a sai. "Here, I can't risk going to the hospital and letting more humans know about us…"

"Whoa! I don't know how to perform an emergency appendectomy! And this is a ninja weapon, not a sterilized surgical instrument."

"I was thinking you might have to kill me." Raph started sobbing by this point.

"No way!" Leo rushed to Raph's side and confiscated the other sai, "You're our brother, and we are not going to do that. I'm getting all sharp objects away from you to remove the temptation to kill yourself, Raphael."

"DO I LOOK LIKE I'M IN THE MOOD TO ARGUE WITH YOU, LEO?...!" Then, Raph's left hand quickly went over his mouth, but it was useless to stop another stream of vomit from escaping and getting on Leo's feet. "Ohhh…" Raph rolled forward into a fetal position.

Don quickly glared at Leo, but continued to kneel next to Raph's right side and rub his shell, "Shhh… There, there… We're gonna help you Raphie…"

Leo first looked at his vomit-covered feet in disgust, but sighed and knelt facing Raph's left side, also rubbing his shell. "Forgive me, Raph, I'm just tired and frustrated. Since Splinter left me in charge, I feel responsible for you. It's frustrating that I don't know what to do to help you in this situation. I love you and want to do whatever we need to do to help you, even if that means sneaking you into a hospital, somehow. I bet that felt kinda good to barf on me, though." He slightly chuckled.

Raph chuckled slightly, but then winced from a wave of pain. He glanced at Leo with eyes that no longer looked angry, just in pain.

"Awww…" Leo placed a hand on Raph's head to gently rub, but then he had a puzzled look on his face, and turned his hand over. "Raph, I know I've always called you 'Hothead', but you feel a lot warmer than usual."

Don piped up, "Yeah, I read that fever can accompany acute appendicitis. If that's what it is, we should try getting him to a hospital, especially so we can get him pain meds or antibiotics."

"So we're agreed?" Leo asked, "We do need to take him to the hospital? Should we at least try to contact Splinter to let him know what's going on, or ask him what we should do?"

"I already tried calling him," Mikey stated from behind them, "I kept getting voicemail without a dial-tone, so I'm not sure if his shell-cell is on, or if we even get international calling. So it's your call, Leo. Do we take him to the hospital?"

"I think that's the best thing for him." Leo rubbed Raph's shell to comfort him. "I think we should get dressed, and maybe call April so we can sneak into the hospital more easily. Do we have any scrubs in our closet of disguise clothes?"

"Are we gonna need to dress up Raph in scrubs, too?" Mikey asked, "Or is it enough to just cover him with a sheet on a stretcher, since he's our patient?"

"The sheet will probably work, fine." Leo said, "But it wouldn't hurt to bring an extra set of clothes for him." He stood up, glancing at the sticky vomit covering his feet. "And it might be a good idea to bring a bucket, in case he needs to throw up some more."

* * *

**A/N:** Since I've posted the first chapter in late August or early September, Nickelodeon has come out with their version of a new cartoon. Yay! It's cute! But for consistency, my stories will probably stick more with the 2k3 cartoon and the 2007 CGI movie.

Although, now that I've been watching at least 2 months worth of episodes of the Nickelodeon cartoon, I've come to find it more "believable" that Splinter was human, then became a mutant rat (rather than the pet rat turned humanoid mutant rat). I personally think it explains more of where/how the Turtles got all their stuff (furniture, weapons, etc). And wouldn't it take several decades to master ninjitsu? That's longer than most (pet) rodents live.

Now I may have to re-write some of my previous fanfics so that Splinter is Hamato Yoshi, and I'll let the Ancient One be his father. I kinda thought that in the 2k3 cartoon, Hamato Yoshi looked a little bit too young to be a grandfather, while Splinter seemed older than Yoshi. The son looks older than the dad? Hmmm…I once saw a father-son singing group (over 10-15 years ago), where they looked the same age on the poster. The dad said during a concert, "Some guy came up to me and asked 'which of you is the dad, and which is the son?' I never felt like kissing a guy so bad in my entire life!"


	3. Whatever Is Necessary

**What Could Go Wrong?**

**About this story**: Based on a dream I had on 6-23-2006. In my storylines of the TMNT, I'll say it happens in the late summer and early fall of 2005. In case you were wondering, I did watch the "Fast Forward" and "Back to the Sewers" seasons of the 2k3 cartoon, but I didn't like them as much as I liked the regular 2k3 series. I also watched (and liked!) the 2007 movie. I may have included most of the elements from 2k3 cartoon and 2007 movie, but possibly left out stuff from the FF and BTTS series, and instead put in my own stuff. And I'm sure you're still wondering about why I mentioned the timeline to my storyline? Well, since the TMNT started (as a comic book series by Mirage Studios) in 1984, I'm going to "assume" that in that year in my storyline, that's when the TMNT were born/hatched/mutated, so this would mean that in 2005, the TMNT would be 21 years old. Rated T (PG-13), since drinking is mentioned, and some medical descriptions (not too graphic!).

**Warnings about this chapter**: There may be some medical descriptions, and a part near the middle that may be a bit harsh. (I don't want to give away too much info here, but I'll describe it as psychological child-abuse.)

**Pairings**: Raph/Leo

* * *

**Chapter 3:** Medical Attention Necessary

["Paging Doctor Wu to ER Room Five, Doctor Wu to ER Room Five…"]

The speaker in the emergency room kept its constant drone as the graveyard-shift teams rounded the floors of the university's teaching hospital. No one seemed to notice five scrub-clad figures with disposable faceguards and skullcaps around a wheelchair with a sheet-draped figure sitting in it.

"Good work distracting the receptionist, April." Leo nodded to the only one of the figures who had a white lab coat on over light purple scrubs.

"Sure thing, Leo. I've been looking for an excuse to wear this lab coat again for something. Just let me know where we should take him from here. I don't know my way around this hospital; all I know is that we can blend in if we act like a teaching team, since it is a teaching hospital." April stayed in the front with Don, while Mike and Leo took turns pushing the wheelchair and holding Raph's hand.

Don stopped in front of an empty exam room, "This one looks clean and unoccupied, let's use this one." He closed the door behind them.

Mikey and Leo stopped the wheelchair in front of the reclined exam table, and they quickly tried to help Raph climb onto it.

"How are you hanging in there, Raphie?" Mikey stopped to put his arms around Raph's shoulders and gently rub.

All Raph could do to respond was grunt in pain as Mikey tried to help him keep pace with breathing. "Shhh…we're here, we're gonna help you."

April and Donnie stood guard at the door, and April turned to Donnie and said, "OK, Donnie, I don't think you'll like this next part of the plan, but it is important. We need to flag down one of the nurses or doctors who can be sworn to secrecy so they can give Raph the appropriate medical attention."

"Right," Donnie agreed. He turned to Leo, "April and I will be right back."

Once Don and April left the room, Leo sighed, "I still have a bad feeling like it was a mistake to come here. We could be in so much trouble, sneaking into a hospital, obtaining pain meds, getting discovered…"

"I'm sorry…" Raph mumbled as best he could.

Leo nervously approached Raph and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault your appendix broke, or popped, or whatever an appendix like yours does. I still wanna do whatever it takes to help you."

The door to the exam room cracked opened again, and April's voice was saying, "…And you must not tell or show anyone else what you see in this room."

Don could be heard next, "Please keep secret our unique…patient dynamic."

A third female voice was heard, "It's alright—I'll do my best to protect the privacy of my patients."

The three of them walked into the exam room, and shut the door behind them again.

April announced, "OK, Donnie and I found a med student who can take a look at Raph. Don't worry, she said she won't tell anyone what she sees."

A woman with short dark-brown hair, wearing light blue scrubs and a hip-length white coat stepped forward with a clipboard. "Good morning, I'm a third-year med student, Sydney Leslie." She glanced down at her clipboard, "Raphael Hamato, is it?"

Don made his way to Raph's side, "Yes, this is my brother, Raphael. We think he may have acute appendicitis, since he's been having a lot of pain near his right hip, and he's felt feverish, and been vomiting quite a bit."

"Let me see…" the student moved the sheet to uncover Raph's right side, noticing his shell, "Oh…it's…you." She stared at Raph's face for a few moments.

Don interrupted, "This is what I meant about our 'unique patient dynamic': he's a mutant turtle." He removed his own disposable faceguard and skullcap, while the others did the same.

The med student took a deep breath, seeming to fight tears in her eyes, "I never thought I'd see you again, or get the chance to thank you for giving me a new start at life. Keeping your secret is the least I can do for you in return for what you did for me."

"You know us?" Don asked, puzzled.

She turned to him, "Donatello, right?" When he nodded, she threw her arms around him in a hug.

He hugged back, still not recognizing her, "It's been a long time."

She released, "I'm sorry, you may remember me better as 'Quarry', from the underground city…"

"Oh, Quarry! I mean—Sydney!" Don remembered. "How did you end up here?"

She explained, "Well, as part of my 'new life' after the underground city, I went back to school to get prerequisites so I could go to med school. That way, I'd be able to help people, like my fellow freed prisoners from the underground city, and others in similar situations who may end up with…unique medical needs." She turned to Raph, "I never expected that I would actually get to help the very people who saved my life. To think, I just happened to be on rotation here, and my teaching team is on call the same night you had problems with your appendix. Now, let's take a look at you…"

* * *

"After looking at your CT scan, Raphael, your appendix has actually ruptured." Sydney explained to Raph and the others nearly an hour after they entered the exam room.

Leo rubbed Raph's shoulder, "Wow, Raph has a very high pain tolerance. I can't imagine how bad it really is…"

"I don't know, he actually seems happy right now," Mikey pointed out. "But I think that's just because of the Demerol he had earlier." He patted Raph's other shoulder, as Raph's sedated eyes blinked at the sound of their voices.

Don asked, "So, what do we do now, Sydney?"

Sydney stated, "I talked to Dr. Wu, the attending physician on my team, and he says that as soon as he can be prepped, Raphael needs an emergency appendectomy."

"Are you going to do that?" Leo asked.

Sydney shook her head, "Although I can't actually perform the appendectomy, I can be present in the room when it is done. Given the situation, maybe one or two of you can also be in the room, to make sure that everything goes well, and that no one else finds out that you're mutant turtles." She glanced at their confused expressions before continuing, "If you want to think it over for about five minutes, I could come back…"

Leo stammered, "Wait! If he needs immediate surgery…" he glanced down at sedated Raph, "I'd hate to delay any life-saving treatment. But at the same time, I don't know if we're ready to make the call to trust his fate to total strangers, even if they are professional trained surgeons and anesthesiologists."

"That's why I suggested that you could have one other turtle brother, and your human sister, Amber, wasn't it?" Sydney asked looking questioningly at April.

"It's actually April." April corrected quietly.

Sydney smiled, "Oh, sorry, April. I hope you don't have a problem being with Raph the entire time throughout the surgery. He needs a human family member as somewhat of a guardian. Even _I_ don't know everyone on the surgery team, but I can help in interfacing with them."

April seemed to mull the idea around for a brief moment, "Ummm…OK, I can be with him. Could I take something so I don't get queasy, though? I've never seen an actual surgery before, so I don't know how I'll take it."

"Sure," Sydney nodded, "We can work something out. Would you like a brother to be with him as well?"

Don raised his hand, "I don't mind. I mean, I could keep April from passing out, and maybe it could be just like being in a garage, working on a car."

"And you don't think you'll pass out, Donnie?" April almost smirked.

"Well," Don pondered, "You can keep me from passing out, too. I'm sure it won't exactly smell like the garage, or the workshop. But I'm sure we can handle it OK, if we think of it more from a scientific standpoint."

"Right, Donnie," April nodded, "It'll be like a science-geek slumber party, only in the wee hours of the morning."

Don laughed. Turning to his brothers, he asked, "Are you guys OK with April and I being the ones staying with Raph throughout the surgery? What are you gonna do during that time?"

Leo said, "Maybe Mikey and I can guard the waiting room. Is that OK with you, Mikey?"

Mike shrugged, "Sure. Fair warning—I may fall asleep. Otherwise I'd love to watch Raph's appendix get removed, while I get queasy, and probably pass out…"

Sydney said, "Oh, it's no problem if you need to sleep in the waiting room during the surgery. Are we ready to get Raphael prepped and sent to surgery?"

All eyes seemed to fall on Leo, who took a deep breath, and a sideways glance at his sedated brother.

Raph just blinked and seemed to smile a little at Leo, as if to say, "I'll be fine."

Leo slightly smiled encouragingly at Raph, and squeezed his hand. He looked back up at Sydney, and replied, "We're ready."

* * *

After what seemed like hours, a tall man in a bloodied white coat, with his face concealed partly in shadow and partly by a surgical faceguard and skullcap walked out of the surgery room. In a deep voice, he called out to the waiting room, "Hamato?"

Leo stood up anxiously. "Is he OK?"

The man continued, "Actually…I don't know how else to tell you this, but something happened, and your brother died before we got to the operating table."

Leo had a shocked expression on his face. "What happened? What went wrong?"

The man laughed maniacally, "Actually, Leonardo, nothing went wrong. Everything went exactly as planned. Doctor Stockman and I enjoyed dissecting Raphael." He stepped out from the shadows, taking off his skullcap and faceguard. It was Bishop! "I just wanted to thank you, Leonardo, for donating his body to my research. We couldn't have made so many scientific breakthroughs without _your_ making the call to send him to surgery. But we still have a few other breakthroughs to make…"

"…And I'm volunteering you, Leonardo." A voice to Leo's left spoke up.

Leo did a double take, "Master Splinter? What are you doing here? I thought you left for Japan?"

"Well, my son, I was actually giving you a test. I've been following you this entire time, just waiting to see you fail. Because of your call in letting strangers operate on Raphael, he is dead. I am very disappointed in you, Leonardo. But I no longer need to worry about you disappointing me any more, since I am now teaching you a final lesson by contributing you to Bishop's research. Bishop and Stockman can do with you whatever they wish, as long as it involves killing you."

Some of Bishop's henchmen grabbed Leo by the arms, and wrestled him onto a gurney. They handcuffed and strapped him onto it.

"Wait!" Leo protested, "I didn't mean to kill Raph. I was trying to save his life, and prevent him from suffering. I love Raph! I didn't think he'd die during surgery!"

"I know the truth, my ex-son." Splinter sternly glared at Leo. "You didn't love your brother near as much as you loved your position of being in charge. Maybe once you finally die of your prolonged torture, you can tell him that yourself. Bishop, take him away!"

Leo screamed as he was taken into the operating room, "Nooooooooooooo!"

* * *

"Nooooooooooooo!" Leo was still screaming in Mike's lap in the surgical waiting room.

"Leo, Leo, wake up!" Mike shook him awake.

"Huh?" Leo sat up, rubbed his eyes, and stared at Mike, still breathing heavily.

Mike rubbed Leo's shoulder, "It's OK; you just fell asleep in my lap, since the chairs aren't that comfortable."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mikey. I guess I was just really worried about Raph, and how his surgery is going."

"Leo, you don't need to apologize." Mike put his arm around Leo, and pulled his head to rest on his shoulder. "It's my pleasure to be there for you. For what it's worth, I think you made the best call you could under the circumstances. I mean, Raph isn't going to get any better until they take out his nasty appendix."

Leo sighed, "I'm sorry I'm just flipping out right now. I just had a nightmare that Raph…died on the operating table, all because I gave the doctors the OK to operate on him. And Bishop dissected him for his research, and then Splinter volunteered me to Bishop's research to teach me my 'final lesson'… Wow! It's not like it's my first time to be in charge while Splinter is away. Some leader I turned out to be."

"Well, honestly—I don't mean to kick you more when you're down, but you've made plenty of mistakes before, as a leader." As Leo sighed again, Mike put his hands on Leo's shoulders, looking him squarely in the eyes, "But you've learned from them and moved on to make those failures into epic successes."

Leo smiled in spite of himself. "Oh, Mikey, now you sound just like Splinter, except you're not calling me 'my son'—or 'my ex-son', as he was in the dream."

Mikey patted Leo's shoulder, "Really? 'My _ex_-son'? Splinter would ever say that? I mean, he calls me 'my son', even though I'm just a goofball, and I've disappointed him a countless number of times more than you have. And I've often wondered why he never leaves me in charge…" He laughed a little.

Leo pulled Mike into a hug, and just held him there for a few moments. "Oh, Mikey, believe it or not, you could be in charge. You take good care of me, almost like a mom, even though I know you're my little brother."

"Somehow when Splinter isn't here, my maternal instincts—or rather, a modified version of my _fraternal_ instincts—just surface. What can I say?"

"Now I feel bad for not giving you a card on Mother's Day, Mikey."

"It's the thought that counts, bro."

The sound of nearing footsteps from the hall caused the brothers to release from their embrace.

Sydney appeared in the doorway, "Leonardo? Michelangelo?"

They stood up together, clasping each other's hands in anticipation.

Sydney stated, "I just want to let you both know, that Raphael's surgery went well. He's been taken to a recovery room, where April and Donatello are still with him."

Leo sighed with relief, "Really?"

Sydney smiled, "Yes, he's just fine. And he's recovering well. You're free to come in and see him whenever you like. He's in the third room on the right." She motioned through the doors she just passed through to come into the waiting room.

"Thank you so much, Sydney." Leo found himself giving Sydney a hug.

Mikey made it a group hug, "We really appreciate your help."

Sydney hugged back, "Thank _you_ for the learning opportunity. I'm so glad you came so that I could give back to you, after you gave me a new chance at life." She even planted a quick, but sweet kiss on Leo's cheek and then Mike's cheek. "I actually need to report to rounds with my team, now. But I hope to see you guys again when we round to your brother's recovery room."

"Sure, we understand." Leo asked, "Will you still be coming in the room alone to check on us? You know, while the rest of your team waits outside?"

Sydney turned around for one brief moment to assure them, "Oh, yes, Doctor Wu says we can do rounds to your room like that. I'll take care of that."

"Thanks again, Sydney!" Leo waved as she turned and left through the doors.

Mike took Leo's hand, and the two of them headed through the doors to go to Raph's recovery room.

Leo looked back at Mike, "Now, one last question for you, Mikey—while I was asleep in your lap, were you…"

"I was keeping watch like a good mommy…watching the back of my eyelids, having a nice nap, until a screaming baby woke me up. Oh, wait—that was you!"


	4. In Recovery

**What Could Go Wrong?**

**About this story**: Based on a dream I had on 6-23-2006. In my storylines of the TMNT, I'll say it happens in the late summer and early fall of 2005. In case you were wondering, I did watch the "Fast Forward" and "Back to the Sewers" seasons of the 2k3 cartoon, but I didn't like them as much as I liked the regular 2k3 series. I also watched (and liked!) the 2007 movie. I may have included most of the elements from 2k3 cartoon and 2007 movie, but possibly left out stuff from the FF and BTTS series, and instead put in my own stuff. And I'm sure you're still wondering about why I mentioned the timeline to my storyline? Well, since the TMNT started (as a comic book series by Mirage Studios) in 1984, I'm going to "assume" that in that year in my storyline, that's when the TMNT were born/hatched/mutated, so this would mean that in 2005, the TMNT would be 21 years old. Rated T (PG-13), since drinking is mentioned, and some medical descriptions (not too graphic!).

**Warnings about this chapter**: Some hints of gender-specific humor, drinking, and medical stuff. There's also some brotherly love, which is not meant to be slashy, but I thought I would warn anyone with extreme "slash-phobia".

**Pairings**: Raph/Leo

* * *

**Chapter 4:** In Recovery

"Raph? Raph?..."

Raph blinked as the sound of his name became clearer and the lights in his field of vision came more into focus. He found himself staring into Don's brown eyes.

"Hey, Raph, are you feeling better?" Don gave Raph's right hand a squeeze.

At first, Raph just blinked at Don. When Raph finally felt like talking, he slowly muttered, "Hey, Donnie, what happened?"

Don smiled, "Well, your appendix ruptured, and you are now recovering from surgery at the teaching hospital with some IV meds in your other arm. You're doing great, Raph."

Raph saw April peering over Don's left shoulder. "Donnie and I stayed with you the whole time. Doctor Sydney—er, _Almost_ Doctor Sydney says you can rest and recuperate in this room. It might be easier for you to stay lying down with your head slightly reclined, like you are right now, and wait at least a few hours before you try sitting up. Are you comfortable?"

"I guess…" Raph began, "I feel kinda disoriented and sleepy. I don't think I wanna move for a while, anyway. Thanks for staying with me."

April continued, "It really wasn't a problem, since I was already awake."

Don turned to her, "I remember you were worried about getting nauseated while watching Raph's surgery, but you seemed to handle it very well."

"Yeah?" She smiled, "It was very educational for me. I've never seen a human appendix in person before, but now I've seen a mutant turtle appendix."

Don looked back at Raph, "I hope our talking isn't bothering you. We can be quieter if you'd like."

Raph made a small half-smile, "It's OK. Actually, it's kinda soothing to hear both of your voices. Like sometimes when you talk in your techno-geek mumbo-jumbo late at night, and I have no idea what you're saying, I just feel like I'm listening to a lullaby in a foreign language. And I mean that as a compliment, not as if I'm tuning you out or trying to ignore you."

"I know, Raphie," Don patted Raph's arm, "I sometimes feel like that when I hear you and Casey talking about sports. But I'm completely tuned in when you tell me about personal stuff."

There was a light knock at the door. April turned to open it a few inches before saying, "I'm sorry, no visitors, family only…and since you guys are immediate family, come on in. He's awake."

Leo walked into the room, with Mikey loosely holding onto his arm for moral support. "Hey there, Tough Guy," Leo began, "How're you doin'?"

Raph smiled up at him, "Been better. But I feel much better than I did back in the dojo, or when I first got to the hospital."

Mikey smiled at Raph from the foot of the bed, "You look great, Bro. Did you lose weight?" He winked.

Raph chuckled, "I've only been lying here, so it's hard to feel the full benefit of being a few pounds lighter without my appendix."

Don cut in, "A few ounces, actually. In fact…" He turned to retrieve something under his chair. When he returned to sitting upright, he had a closed jar in his hands about the size of a grapefruit. His hands still covered most of the glass of the jar.

"You didn't…" Leo's eyes widened.

"Well, we couldn't very well have a mutant turtle's appendix fall in the hands of strangers in the pathology lab." Don began, "If it won't freak you out, I could move my hands out of the way and let you see it."

"Unless you're afraid it'll bite you…" April giggled.

A slightly cocky smile came to Raph's face. "It was mine, so I kinda wanna see it."

"Okay," Don shrugged as he gently set the jar down on the bed so that Raph could see it without needing to move. "Cool, huh?"

"Ewww, gross…" Mikey made a disgusted face, but continued to study the jar.

Leo shivered, "That looks like a prop from some old…space-alien horror movie."

Raph seemed to study it for a while, "_That's_ my appendix? The thing that's been giving me shell since I left Casey's place? It's only this big?" He held up his hand with about two inches of space between his index finger and thumb.

"Kinda disappointing," Don empathized, "Is it smaller than you were expecting?"

"Yeah," Raph mumbled, still studying the jar. "I thought it would be at least the size of a cantaloupe—or a bowling ball, considering how much pain it caused me."

April chuckled, "Guys sure are obsessed with size. Why don't the rest of you get yours removed, so you could compare whose is the biggest?"

The turtles all rolled their eyes and groaned, while April continued laughing.

Mikey shook his head, "I have a better idea—let's _not_ all go under the knife, and just say Raph wins that contest. Okay?"

"I can live with that." Leo nodded. He turned back to Raph, "All I can say to you right now is how much I admire you. You're the first brother of us to undergo actual surgery at a hospital. I take for granted just how brave you are."

"Yeah, Bro," Mikey thumped himself three times with his right fist in the middle of his chest, then gun-pointed to Raph with the same hand, slightly bowing his head. "Total respect."

Raph beamed at the others, "You guys are the best brothers—and sister—ever. I don't know how I'll make it up to you for staying with me."

Donnie yawned, "Well, I'm awfully sleepy right now…" He also returned the jar under his chair.

April opened a small closet, wheeling out a folded-up cot with sheets on it, "Would you like to sleep on this, Donnie?"

"Oh, thanks, April." He stood up to help her set up the cot to Raph's right, where he was sitting when Raph woke up. "What about you? Where are you gonna sleep?"

"I'll take that recliner on the other side of the bed." She replied.

Leo wandered toward a small love seat under the window. He started removing the cushions, discovering that it had a hide-a-bed in it. "Hey, Mikey, we could share this, if you'd like."

"Okay, Leo, just try not to kick me or scream and wake me up this time." Mikey said as he climbed into bed beside his big brother.

Raph chuckled once the lights were off, "Yay! A slumber party! Can somebody sing me to sleep? Donnie?" He glanced to his right, where Don was getting under the cot's sheets.

"Huh? Oh, Raph, you know I'm not the singing type. Mikey knows more songs than I do." Don shook his head.

"I'll sing if everyone else sings with me." Mikey stated. He then started singing, and the others joined in before drifting off to sleep for the group nap, "We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine. We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine…"

* * *

"I'm sorry, sir," the nurse at the nurse's station explained to the stubborn visitor, "I don't know if the Hamato room is taking visitors, they barely even let the other nurses check on them. All I can do is call them and wait for someone to answer."

"Look, lady—er, ma'am, my girlfriend called me and told me that my friend had surgery. I know they'll see me." The man explained.

"Casey?" April peered around the corner. "I thought that was you harassing the nurses…"

"April! Babe!" Casey turned back to the nurse, "Oh, sorry about the trouble earlier. Thanks for helping me find the Hamato family."

"Sure, you're welcome," she turned back to her work.

Casey walked over to embrace April. "Hey, you look so cute in scrubs. Considering a career change?"

April smiled, shook her head, and playfully slapped Casey's shoulder. "I'm so glad you could make it. Come in and see him."

Casey shrugged, "Well, I really just came to see you, but since Raph is also here, I might as well say hi."

As they walked in, Leo was helping Raph sit up in bed. Seeing the grimace on Raph's face, Leo cautioned, "Well, you don't have to push yourself too hard, Raph. If it's too uncomfortable for you to sit up, you can lie back down. We'll try sitting up later."

Raph actually started smiling, "Hey, Casey's here!" He held out his right hand so Casey could slap it and hang on to it a little longer for some semblance of a secret handshake.

"So, Raph, what's this I hear about you having surgery?" Casey started, "Did you finally get a suitable brain-donor for that brain implant?"

"Ha, ha, very funny, Casey." Raph looked downward, and moved the sheets away from his right side to show off the bandages.

"Whoa, Raph, aren't you a little young to have male enhancement surgery?"

Raph laughed, "Oh, no, nothing like that. Your girlfriend said I didn't need any enhancement in _that_ area."

"What?...!" Casey and April both looked shocked, but Casey was looking at April with a questioning look, while April was angrily glaring at Raph.

"OK, just kidding," Raph defended himself. "April has done a great job taking care of me, and helping me keep a low profile here at the hospital since I had my appendix removed. She and Donnie also stayed with me the whole time during my surgery."

Casey looked back at Raph, "Your appendix?"

"Yeah," Raph replied to Casey, but then looked at Leo, "Could you help me lay back down, again?"

Leo nodded and complied. "Take it easy, OK, Bro?" He patted Raph's chest as he tucked him under the sheet.

"Thanks, Leo," Raph smiled at Leo, who continued to pat him. Looking back at Casey, Raph explained, "I started hurting about the time I left your house last night. I was really in pain and throwing up when I got home. My bros called April so we could get into the hospital. We ran into an old friend who is in med school, she ordered a few tests, and found that my appendix ruptured. I had a surgery this morning, we had a group nap, Mikey and Donnie had class and filled in at April's shop, and Leo and April have been with me for most of the afternoon."

"It's been better now that Raph got out of surgery OK." Leo explained, "We've been watching TV, playing cards, and trying to help Raph sit up, and maybe take a bite or two. He's making progress here and there." He rubbed Raph's shoulder, while Raph smiled back at him.

Casey shrugged, "Sheesh, Raph, one minute you're out drinking with a guy, and the next thing you know, he's having his appendix taken out…"

"What?" Leo glared at Casey, then glanced at Raph, who had a "busted" look on his face.

Raph explained, "Casey and I did not go 'out drinking' last night, Leo. What happened was we were working at the baseball stadium, and Casey and I confiscated a keg from some wild, roughhousing tailgaters. After work, we took the keg back to Casey's place. It was just the two of us at Casey's place, watching movies, playing foosball, hitting the heavy bag, and having some pizza and beer. I didn't actually feel like eating or drinking much, though."

"Come to think of it, Raph," Casey began, "You barely nibbled at your pizza, and I drank a lot more than you last night. How is it you got sick to where you needed surgery, and all I got was a mild hangover?"

April cut in, "One of the things our med student doctor explained to us was that sometimes appendicitis can be idiopathic—can happen without an apparent cause. So it may not have been anything Raph had to eat or drink that caused his appendix to get infected and rupture."

"That's not so much what concerns me," Leo noted, looking at Raph, "I thought you told me you would keep a low profile when you went with Casey, but drinking alcoholic beverages may cause you to compromise that, lowering your inhibitions to where you won't be able to avoid fights."

"But I didn't drink or eat much," Raph stammered, "I know it was because I was already feeling sick, rather than because I was using the responsible restraint that my big brother instilled in me when he imparted other wisdom and values…"

"Raph, I'm not mad at you," Leo apologized to his brother's fake pouty-faced lip, "You've been punished enough, even though you haven't really done anything." He rubbed Raph's shoulder again. He stood up and looked at Casey, "Casey, could I have a word with you, in private?"

"Like where?" Casey asked, "The bathroom?"

"That'll work." Leo headed into the bathroom with Casey.

April giggled, "How many guys does it take to use the bathroom together?"

Casey played along, "Sorry, Leo, I'm all out of tampons you can borrow…"

"Whatever, Casey…" Leo laughed as they closed the door behind them. He turned to face squarely with Casey, "And the question I have for you is—why are you trying to encourage Raph to drink and party? That only leads him to make poor decisions about his health, which endangers the safety of our family."

"How do I do that, again?"

"Let me break it down for you—Raph drinks with you, something ticks him off, the alcohol shuts up his rational thinking, which leads to him getting into fights and acting dangerously without a second thought about it. This puts him at risk for injury to himself and others. Since Splinter is out of town, he can't rescue Raph once he gets in trouble. You also know that I'm not quite as understanding as Splinter, since I'm not Raph's father. And right now I'm responsible for Raph's well-being, as I am with all my brothers when Splinter isn't available…"

"Wait!" Casey interrupted, "Raph told me that you are in charge when Splinter is away. He knows that you are under a lot of pressure as leader, big brother, and substitute father. He told me there is also pressure on _him_, since he knows that if he butts heads with you, that Splinter's not there to help make peace between the two of you. That's one reason why Raph and I took the keg in the first place. And we went back to my place, rather than drink it in a public place. This way, he could relax with a friend, without worrying about getting into bar fights or anything like that. I'm sorry if it seems to you like I'm encouraging Raph to be more rebellious, and undermine your authority. I intended to do the complete opposite of that by just trying to help him take it easy, and give you and him a break from each other."

"I'm not accusing you of being a bad influence on Raph. I mean, he looks up to you, and looks forward to hanging out with you. I'm sure it's because he can't wait to get away from me, or drink so that he can forget about his problems with me. So if Raph ever develops a drinking problem, then I'm the one who is at the root of it, not you."

"That's not entirely true. I mean, sure he needs some space away from you every once in a while. But when the two of you are actually on good terms, the way he talks about you, it almost makes me jealous of you."

"Really?"

"And it wouldn't be the first time I felt like a mutant turtle had an edge over me."

When Leo gave him a puzzled look, Casey elaborated, "April used to seem more comfortable around Donnie than when she was with me. Donnie still has a lot more in common with her than I do, but I digress. Raph getting along with me is not much of an accomplishment; but when Raph is able to get along with you, it means more to him. I can tell it means more than he'll ever admit, and you know he tells me a lot. I can also tell when he's had a bad argument with you, because it's like he's even madder at himself and everything else. Almost as if his entire mood is hinging on how well he gets along with you."

Leo blinked. "Whoa… I guess I never realized how important my role is in Raph's life. Come to think of it, I don't remember any times he was able to get along with me, while at the same time being at odds with any other friends of ours. Thanks for your help, Casey."

"With what?" Casey still looked confused.

"To be honest, I thought I was gonna give _you_ a lecture on how _not_ to be a bad influence on Raph, blah, blah, blah… Instead, I think you ended up teaching _me_ a lesson on how to be a _good_ influence on him. I didn't know you had it in you. Ironic, huh?"

"Yeah, it was. _I_ didn't even know I had it in me. But if you and Raph are ever at odds while Splinter is away, I'll try to help you be cool with each other again."

"Alright." Leo patted Casey on the shoulder as a way of showing thanks.

"Oh, come here, you!" Casey pulled Leo into a quick bear hug, and Leo finally relented.

As the two of them came out of the bathroom, Sydney was talking to Raph and April.

"Oh, Sydney, this is my boyfriend, Casey. He and Raph work and hang out together a lot." April motioned to Casey. "And, Casey, this is Sydney. She's Raph's doctor, who is still in med school, and she's also a friend of the Turtles."

Sydney and Casey shook hands and exchanged "hellos", before Sydney explained, "I was just coming in to check on Raphael. He may want to stay here a few nights, but if he continues to progress at this rate, he can go home in a few days. And I'll give you my contact information, so he can keep a low profile and see me for any additional follow-up appointments."

"Uh, follow-up appointments?" Raph looked puzzled.

"To make sure the antibiotics and other meds did the job." Sydney explained. "I'll see you in two weeks after discharge. If all goes well at that appointment, we can wait two months until what is hopefully the last appointment for your post-appendectomy."

"And I can be home between these appointments, not in the hospital?" Raph asked.

"Yes, in just a few days." Sydney explained.

"Although, considering where you live," April said looking at Raph, "It may be better if you stayed at my apartment for at least a few days after that." April volunteered, "And you're welcome to let your brothers stay, too."

Raph smiled, "Thanks, April. It seems our slumber party just doesn't stop!"

* * *

"Well, welcome home, Raph…sort of." Casey smiled as he and Leo helped carry Raph between them, so he could sit on the couch in April's living room.

"Thanks, Case." Raph patted him on the shoulder.

"How did walking feel for you?" Leo asked.

"Not bad, half of the time." Raph shrugged.

"_Half_ of the time?" Leo had a puzzled look on his face. "The half before or after the stairs?"

"Actually, the half when I could put my weight on my left leg wasn't bad, but let's just say that I'm glad I took that extra Vicodin as I left the hospital." Raph patted the bandages on his right hip, "I definitely don't feel like going anywhere for a while."

"There's no reason for you to go anywhere." Casey shrugged, "I mean, I'll be covering for you at the stadium for a few days, and I'll make sure anyone who needs to see your doctor's excuse note sees it. All you do is stay here and rest."

April walked in with an armful of stuff, and set it on the kitchen counter.

"Do you need any help with that, Babe?" Casey asked. When April raised an eyebrow, he corrected his choice of words, "…Or whatever endearing pet-name you prefer, April."

"Oh, thanks, Dear." April motioned to the pile of stuff she just placed on the counter, "You might see if any of this stuff is yours."

"What is it, anyway?"

"Let's see…a bag of Raph's medication, and a lot of the clothes and 'props' that the Turtles and I used to get in and blend in to the hospital. Hmmm…I may need to wash these in case we need to use them again." She looked over at Leo and Raph, "That couch is also a sleeper, if you think that may be more comfortable."

Leo looked at Raph, who shrugged, "OK. I'd like that."

"You can sit in the chair while I get the sleeper ready." Leo suggested as he helped Raph stand and take a few steps to sit in the recliner.

Casey joined Leo in prepping the sleeper-couch. When it was ready, he helped Raph lie down in it. "Here you go, Raph. April and I will probably be in and out of this place throughout the day, going to get stuff to eat and such. Mikey and Donnie are either working down in the shop with Angel, or doing class stuff. So it'll only be the two of you for a while. Just call us if you need anything."

"Thanks, Man." Raph gave Casey a thumbs-up as he left.

Leo patted Casey's shoulder on his way out, "Yeah, thanks, Casey." He waved to April, "And we greatly appreciate your help, April, and couldn't have made it without you."

"Of course, you guys are family to me." April waved back as she and Casey slipped out the door.

Leo reclined on the sleeper mattress to Raph's left, "Well, I guess it's just the two of us for a while."

Raph sighed, "Yep…"

There was a moment of awkward silence between them, before Raph started, "I don't know if I ever really thanked you for making the call to send me into surgery. I can't imagine how much pressure was riding on you at the time, but I understand it wasn't easy for you. So, thanks."

"Well," Leo shrugged, "Splinter did tell me to be responsible for you. It sure wouldn't be very responsible of me to do nothing while letting you suffer." He put his right arm around Raph's shoulders.

Raph first smiled at Leo's gesture, then he leaned his head so that it was resting on Leo's shoulder. "So, you were just doing your 'big-brotherly duty', huh?"

Leo chuckled, and used his right hand to pat and stroke Raph's right arm. "Sure. I try."

Raph looked up at Leo, "Speaking of 'brotherly duties', that reminds me—I've been slacking off with mine."

Leo tried to keep Raph from sitting up, "You couldn't help it, you needed your appendix removed. Just stay right there and take your time to heal…"

Raph kept his head on Leo's shoulder, "I wasn't talking about my chores. I was talking about what Splinter told me, right before he left. He told me to listen to you, so you don't get any headaches or panic attacks. I'm pretty sure you've already had plenty of headaches and panic attacks because of me."

"It wasn't your fault, Raph. It's not like you gave me any attitude this time."

"Still, I feel as if I should try to…make it up to you somehow. Would you like me to give you a massage?"

"What? Seriously?" Leo looked puzzled.

"Sure, just turn face-down." Raph propped his head up against his left arm, as Leo turned toward Raph and onto his stomach, with his head still slightly turned toward Raph on the sleeper-couch. Raph moved so that he was partly up on Leo's shell, but mostly lying on his left side. "There, just relax…" Raph said as his hands made their way to Leo's shoulders and neck.

"Oh, Raph, that feels so good. I didn't know you were such a great massage therapist."

"Well, I've learned a few things from working around athletes."

"No kidding. And to think this is how good a massage you give when you don't have all your strength back."

"I've kinda wanted to do this after a really intense training session, but this was also a good time."

"Thanks, Raph, this is such a treat."

"Sure, anytime, Leo."

There were a few moments of peaceful silence, before they could hear some steps approaching via the spiral staircase.

"Raph? Leo?" Called Donnie's voice.

"Are you guys asleep?" Mikey asked quietly, right behind Don.

"Not yet," Leo replied, still slightly muffled by the mattress, "But I'm getting there."

Don started taking off the human disguise he was wearing, "We just came to check on you guys."

"Yeah," Mikey said as he took off his disguise, "We never know if it could be a disaster waiting to happen, just by leaving you two alone together."

"We're cool." Raph replied, "And Fearless is a lot less tense now, than he was fifteen minutes ago."

"Mmm, Hmmm…" Leo's voice mumbled. "Even though I miss Splinter when he's away, I enjoy my time with the three of you. It's great to grow closer together as brothers as we learn to take care of each other. Although, after-school special aside, I hope the rest of this time with Splinter away we can maintain a low profile. Please, no more rupturing appendixes."

"I think the plural is 'appendices'." Don corrected.

Leo chuckled, "Yeah, OK. Sorry I butchered the wording, just please don't rupture them anymore."

"I learned my lesson," Raph smiled, still rubbing Leo's shoulders, "It won't happen again."

Leo nudged his head into Raph's shoulder, as if patting him using his head instead of his hands. "Just to be sure, Donnie confiscated your appendix for safekeeping in his lab."

Don leaned over and said to Raph, "Unless you want to put it under your pillow for the 'Appendix Fairy'."

The brothers all had a good laugh before Raph shook his head, "Nah. You keep it, Donnie. Maybe it'll be like my contribution to science, if you and Leatherhead wanna study it or something. Don't say I never gave you anything 'science-y'."

"Wow. Thanks, Raph!" Don rubbed Raph's shell in a brief, but sincere show of gratitude.

Mikey cleared his throat as he sat down on the other side of the sleeper-couch, next to Leo. When he had the others' attention, he motioned to the shoulder massage. "So, Raph, when is it my turn?"

Raph smirked, "If you wanna massage Leo, too, just jump right in."

"No, I meant making an appointment with you, Raph. Leo seems so happy and relaxed, like you're doing a great job with him." He nodded in Donnie's direction. "And I'm sure that will feel great during the week of our midterms coming up in a few weeks."

Raph thought about it, "Well, by then I should have most of my strength back. Sure, I'll give you and Donnie some massages during midterms. And you're welcome to wait until after I'm done with Leo to get a smaller one today. You know, just to say, 'Thanks for helping me through all my medical drama of the past week'."

"Thanks, Raph. I'd really like that." Mikey smiled, but changed his tone, "So, is it my turn, yet?"

* * *

**A/N:** I'm also a fan of the TV series "Big Bang Theory", and I was originally going to have them sing the "Soft Kitty" song to Raph when they were taking the post-surgery group nap. The problem was the timeline of the story, which takes place in 2005. "Big Bang Theory" didn't air until 2008 (neither did "Soft Kitty"). Instead, I went with "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles. Oh well, maybe I'll let the TMNT sing "Soft Kitty" in another fanfic…


	5. Splinter Returns

**What Could Go Wrong?**

**About this story**: Based on a dream I had on 6-23-2006. In my storylines of the TMNT, I'll say it happens in the late summer and early fall of 2005. In case you were wondering, I did watch the "Fast Forward" and "Back to the Sewers" seasons of the 2k3 cartoon, but I didn't like them as much as I liked the regular 2k3 series. I also watched (and liked!) the 2007 movie. I may have included most of the elements from 2k3 cartoon and 2007 movie, but possibly left out stuff from the FF and BTTS series, and instead put in my own stuff. And I'm sure you're still wondering about why I mentioned the timeline to my storyline? Well, since the TMNT started (as a comic book series by Mirage Studios) in 1984, I'm going to "assume" that in that year in my storyline, that's when the TMNT were born/hatched/mutated, so this would mean that in 2005, the TMNT would be 21 years old. Rated T (PG-13), since drinking is mentioned, and some medical descriptions (not too graphic!).

**Warnings about this chapter**: None really, this chapter is more of a family moment on the G to PG level.

**Pairings**: Raph/Leo

* * *

**Chapter 5:** Splinter Returns

About 10 weeks later…

"My sons?" Splinter poked his head around the corner to peer into the kitchen.

Mike and Don both dropped their cooking utensils while their heads popped up like two meerkats, "Master Splinter? ...Master Splinter!" They both ran to him, enveloping him in a hug.

Klunk purred and rubbed up against Splinter's ankles, almost tripping him. Mike picked him up before he could be too much of a trip hazard for his father.

Splinter nodded behind his shoulder, "I also brought company."

"Kumquats!" Ancient One hobbled into the kitchen using a single crutch under his right arm.

Mike and Don gently hugged Ancient One as well.

"I trust you two have been staying out of trouble?" He chuckled.

"Yeah," Mikey nodded, "I've actually been acing my college classes, thanks to Donnie's study sessions, Leo's heckling me to study, and Raph's relaxing massages."

"Good to hear, Michelangelo!" Ancient One applauded.

Don asked, "How is your leg doing, Ancient One?"

Ancient One leaned against the crutch on his right side, and used his left hand to lift the hem of his dogi robe to reveal a walking cast on his right leg. "I can get around on it better than I could when Splinter first arrived. I just don't heal the way I used to when I was much younger. But thank you, Donatello, for the vitamins and the other pills for the pain. I used them once I weaned off the stronger pain pills the doctor in Japan gave me."

Splinter glanced around. "And where are Leonardo and Raphael?"

Mikey shrugged, "Oh, they should soon be coming back from Raph's three-month follow-up doctor's appointment after a surgery."

Splinter's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Raphael had surgery? Are you joking?"

Don looked at Mikey, then back at Splinter and Ancient One. "Maybe you should sit down to hear this story…" He motioned to the kitchen table, where the others followed him.

Mikey pulled out a chair and motioned for Ancient One to sit.

"Thank you, Michelangelo." He said as he sat down next to Splinter.

Don sat across the table from Splinter, with his hands folded on the table. Mike sat down next to him, across from Ancient One. He patted Don's shoulder as Don took a deep breath, looking down at his hands.

"It was within a day of when you left, Master Splinter," began Don; "Raph started vomiting in the dojo at three in the morning, curled up and clutching his right hip in pain."

"What were you all doing in the dojo at that time of night?" Splinter asked, concerned.

"The rest of us were either on our way to bed or already in bed, like Donnie." Mikey stated. "Raph went to the dojo by himself to hit the heavy bag, after getting home from Casey's house. Donnie woke up and joined the rest of us in the dojo. After he took a good look at Raph, he thought Raph's appendix might have ruptured."

Don continued, "If that was the case, he needed medical attention. We called April, disguised ourselves in scrubs and skullcaps, and took Raph to the teaching hospital so we could get some pain meds and antibiotics. While there, April and I flagged down a med student who was on call that night, and swore her to secrecy so she could help us out. It turned out that she was someone we rescued several years ago in the underground city! She was happy to see us again, and be able to help us. She ran some tests, found that Raph's appendix ruptured, and we got him an emergency appendectomy. But April and I were with him the whole time, and we kept his face and most of his body covered so that the surgical team couldn't see that he was a turtle. They've made the appendectomy cuts much smaller nowadays than they used to, so they didn't seem to notice his shell."

Mikey added, "Leo and I…uh…'kept watch' in the waiting room while this was going on. When Raph woke up from the surgery, just people in our family, and our med-student-doctor-friend came into our room. Once in a while, Casey or Angel came in to relieve April as the 'designated human family member'. And Donnie and I occasionally needed to leave for class or work, or to come home to feed Klunk," He petted the orange fur-ball in his lap. "But we made sure at least one human and one turtle was with him at all times."

Don shrugged, "He got to leave the hospital after three nights, and April let him recover at her place for another week. We sure had to rearrange our chore schedule for the next few days!"

"Our training time in the dojo was more like Raph's 'physical therapy' session at first." Mikey cut in, "But he soon got his strength back, and was able to go back to work at the stadium with Casey, for the remainder of baseball season—and just in time for hockey season at Madison Square Gardens. And he was even kicking our shells in the dojo. I was blown away by how well he handled everything."

Splinter's hands covered his mouth. "And no one tried to call and tell me?"

Mikey replied, "I tried calling several times, but I got sent straight to voice mail every time. Was your phone even on?" He got up to finish the rest of the cooking, with Klunk trailing behind him, eager to "help".

Splinter paused for a moment, and then retrieved his shell-cell from his pocket. "Donatello, when I was leaving, I assumed my shell-cell was already on. I was just preoccupied thinking about Ancient One's injury and the trip. I hope I remembered to charge it enough."

He turned it on once he set it on the table. "You have thirty-eight new messages," the digital voice stated.

One by one, Splinter played the missed messages; the first fifteen of them were from Mikey. They mostly began, "Uh, Master Splinter, something is wrong with Raph…" or "It's me again, your favorite son Michelangelo, just letting you know that Raph needs medical attention…" [beep] "Yeah, Raph's appendix ruptured, and he needs it taken out. We snuck him into the teaching hospital with some help from April. We also ran into a friend who's in med school. She says Raph needs an 'appen-dotta-me', or something like—oh yeah—his appendix taken out. Since we couldn't get a hold of you in time to make sure it's OK, Leo gave the OK for sending Raph to surgery…" [beep] "If you get this message, Sensei, I just wanna let you know that Raph is outta surgery OK."

Some of the later ones were from Leo, "Master Splinter, just so you know, since we couldn't reach you in time, Raphael had to have his appendix surgically removed. He's recovering well right now. I would've tried telling you myself sooner, but I've been looking out for Raphael, and my other brothers. I hope you and Ancient One are otherwise doing well." [beep] "Here's Raphael, if you'd like to hear from him…"

Raph's voice was heard a little further away from the receiver, "Master Splinter…[cough]…is that you? [cough, cough]" Then there was a slapping sound. "Ow! OK, just kidding, I'm fine. Maybe I'll be a better ninja next time you see me, and I'll be a lot swifter without my appendix weighing me down. Ha! All-righty then, Leo is giving me that look, so I guess I'll wrap this up. I just wanted you to hear from me how I've been doing, since I know the others are giving you their updates about me. Well, take care! Oh, and here's Leo again…"

There were other messages of Leo or one of the others giving an update every few days to a week.

Splinter was still confused, "But I didn't hear the shell-cell tell me I had any calls or messages?"

Don thought about it, "Well, it may be some glitch that causes our shell-cells to not work as well out of the country. I'll have to work on that…"

Mike put a basket of garlic bread in the middle of the table. "I may have to make some more, since I only thought I was cooking for myself and my brothers."

"I'm sorry, Michelangelo," Splinter got up to help his son with the food preparation, "I know I didn't give you much warning that I would be home for dinner tonight, or that Ancient One would be staying with us."

"That's fine, Sensei, it's just great to have you back. Welcome home!" Mike patted Splinter's shoulder before leaning onto it for a brief hug.

"I trust you didn't just eat junk food the entire time I was gone?"

Mike laughed, "Of course not. We took turns, and since Donnie and I were limited by our class schedules, Raph and Leo spent more time cooking. Well, Leo cooked a lot more while Raph was still recovering, so we ate lots of healthy stuff then. Was I relieved when Raph got better and started cooking again! Raph even learned some new recipes. We were back to our _real_ Turtle-food instead of Leo's rabbit-food. Tonight I promised Raph some of my cooking; to celebrate what I hope is the end of his happy recovery. And now we also get to celebrate your homecoming."

"Oh, my son…" Splinter chuckled and patted Mike's shell.

There was the sound of the Lair's door opening and some footsteps approaching at a running pace.

Before those in the kitchen could even see them, Leo's voice proclaimed, "Guess who's got a clean bill of health?" He briefly appeared in the kitchen doorway holding Raph's waving arm up in the air as if he were announcing an Olympic champion.

"Master Splinter!" Raph broke away from Leo to run and bear-hug his father.

Leo looked a little shocked, but decided to let Raph enjoy a one-on-one hug with Splinter. "Oh, Ancient One!" Leo turned to the table to hug his "grandfather".

"Leonardo, Kumquat! I heard you've been keeping busy taking care of your brothers?" Ancient One returned the hug.

"How have you been, Ancient One?" Leo asked.

"Well, I've been better." He motioned to the walking cast on his right leg. "But I'm also getting better, since Splinter-san has been helping me."

Raph cut in to give Ancient One a hug. "Well, welcome to our home again. I'm glad you're here with us."

While Ancient One and Raph were enjoying a hug, Leo stepped over to hug his father. "Welcome back, Master Splinter! I don't know if you've been here long enough to hear about our…adventure since you've been away. Though we did our best to adjust to your absence, you were missed."

Splinter hugged Leo, "Oh, Leonardo! I heard from Donatello and Michelangelo about how you took care of Raphael after his surgery. I also just heard my messages that you left me during my absence. Donatello says that our signal for the shell-cells may not work as well out of the country." He turned to face the others, "I am so proud of all of you, my sons, to hear how you handled yourselves through a crisis while I was gone."

Mike brought more platters of food to the table and sat down in his previous spot across from Ancient One. "Master Splinter, I'm so glad you didn't take my suggestion and put me in charge."

Leo gave Mike a brief shoulder-pat as he sat down next to him, at the end of the table. "Actually, Mikey looked out for me, and helped me keep from having many a nervous breakdown during our crisis. And Donnie has been sweet and helpful as ever. Raph and I spent plenty of quality time sparring, watching TV, and going to sporting events. I honestly couldn't have learned to lead and be a big brother without the help of all three of them."

Don stated, "It was a learning and bonding experience for all of us."

Splinter walked over to sit across from Don at the table. As Raph walked over to sit between them at the opposite end of the table from Leo, Splinter asked him, "Raphael, how is the scar where you had your appendix removed?"

"Oh, you wanna see the scar?" Raph stepped over so that he was standing between Splinter and Ancient One. "Here, this way you can see, too, Ancient One, without having to get up." He turned to show off a scar right below his right hip, where the skin of his leg met the inguinal portion of his plastron. The scar was just a little over two inches long, and the very bottom edge of Raph's plastron looked as if it had been filed down at one time, but healed over, much like a recovering hang-nail. He had to stretch out his right leg and stand in a slightly twisted pose in order to show it. "Well, this is what's left of the scar, anyway."

"Wow, Raphael, it looks healed over." Ancient One marveled.

Splinter patted Raph's right arm, "I'm glad you're better, my son. Do you notice the difference the surgery made?"

Raph sat down, "Right after the surgery, I definitely noticed I wasn't in pain anymore. But I think that was mostly the pain meds. I just got back from my last follow-up appointment with our friend, the med student, and she said I'm one hundred percent recovered. I don't really notice the difference—at least I don't remember what my body felt like when I had my appendix, at least before it got infected. It's not as big as I thought it was. Just ask Donnie, I let him keep it in a jar in his lab."

"And if you're interested, I could show it to you sometime when we aren't eating." Don stated, "Since it seems everyone other than myself is uncomfortable eating in my lab, with the jar in sight."

"Well, I wouldn't mind seeing it," thought Splinter. "Although I would really like to meet this doctor—or med student, since she may be helpful while Ancient One is staying with us. I would mostly like to thank her for helping take care of my family. I could even treat her to a meal of home-cooked sushi, if she'd like."

Leo said, "Raph and I invited her to Thanksgiving dinner at April's place. You could meet her then."

"Thank you, my sons, that is an excellent suggestion."

"So, Ancient One," Mikey began, "Are you planning to stay with us for just the holidays, or are you going to stay longer?"

"Well, Michelangelo, the five of you are family to me. Of course I at least want to stay for the holidays. Or until my leg heals, whichever comes first. I could stay a few months after that, as long as I do not wear out my welcome."

"Yay!" Mike cheered, "Oh you would never 'wear out your welcome', Ancient One. I mostly just like to keep in mind how many I'm cooking for."

"I'd be happy to help with cooking or any other chores I am able to do." Ancient One chuckled, "Since Splinter-san told me to 'make myself at home'…well, it's what I would be doing in my own home."

Raph piped up, "And while you're here, maybe we could give you the full 'New York Experience'—tour the town, Broadway plays, hot dogs, hockey games!"

"I would enjoy that very much, Raphael." Ancient One smiled.

Don nudged Raph, "So, when and what was the last Broadway play you've seen, Raph?"

"Ha, ha! Never been." Raph shrugged, "But now that we've got a visit from the only grandpa I've ever known, maybe I'll go. But I'm honestly looking forward to taking him to a hockey game even more. Maybe he could enjoy a post-game party with Casey and me."

"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Ancient One laughed.

"Well, Ancient One," Splinter began, "As I mentioned earlier, you may stay as long as you like. How ever you prefer to make yourself feel at home. You may even enjoy a few nights out, and some other cultural or sporting events with my sons and myself as well. After all, what could go wrong?"

The End


End file.
